


3-6-5 (All the Time)

by night_litany



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: 365 Music Video AU, And it’s to do the exact opposite, Angst with a Happy Ending, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) is Bad at Feelings, Crying, Difficult Personalities, Forced Cohabitation, Gavin is bad at feelings, Gavin is part of an Focus Experiment, It has a year to make the human fall in love with him, M/M, Or he fails and becomes scrap metal, Sharing a Bed, That Android is Connor, The Android has a secret mission though, Too bad Gavin has a secret mission too, has to live alone with an Android for a year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-01-06 15:10:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18390899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/night_litany/pseuds/night_litany
Summary: A string of unfortunate incidents coupled with just plain bad luck has Gavin taking part of a focus group experiment by CyberLife. It's not even close to where Gavin expected his year to go but hey, at least he'll be getting paid for basically being a freeloader. The best part is that by the end of the year he'll have Elijah indebted to him and all Gavin really has to do was screw up the success of an experiment and blame it on the easy-to-hate slightly obsessed Android. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Brown

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I saw Zedd's and Katy's music video for 365 and my mind immediately started writing fic. Enjoy!

**DECEMBER 14, 2023 [Candidate Interviews]**

“Define obsession.”

Gavin drummed his fingers on the sterile white table once, keeping his eyes focus on the back of the notepad held by his interviewer. They were in an empty square room with white walls, white floors, white everything. Even the glasses framing his interviewer face were white and Gavin was doing his best not to roll his eyes at this try hard method of clinic immersion. His interviewer was a researcher, not a doctor. And no amount of white was going to fool him into thinking otherwise.

“An unhealthy dependency,” he answered, tone flat but cooperative. It’s not her fault that she isn’t aware that Gavin already has inside information of what they are looking for in a test subject. But then again, as a researcher, Gavin _does_ blame her a little bit for not catching on.

His interviewing checked whatever numbers the two white sensors taped on his temples providing to her screen before checking another box on her pad and proceeding to next question down her list. “Can you return to normal after this study?”

“Absolutely,” Gavin replied dispassionately, ready for this rudimentary session to be over. He gave a curious glance at the back on the screen when it beeped for so reason and swallowed up a scoff when his interviewer looked to the rectangular white panel on the right wall. No doubt a one-way screen where her peers were also taking notes. Fucking amateur hour.

Once she verified whatever that was about, she moved on to the next question. “Define love.”

“Completely conditional.”

She raised an eyebrow at his frankness but Gavin kept his face completely neutral at her silent inquiry.

“Explain,” she probed, and to her credit, just as frank.

“What I said,” Gavin replied with a slight shrug; a teasing smirk threatening to upturn the left side of his lips. “Completely conditional behavior.”

The prolonged blink she gave him told him she was already beginning to find him insufferable, as do all quote on quote _smart people_ when he forces them to rephrase their questions. Exhaling, she tried again. “Would you like to expand on this assertion?”

Shit-eating grin finally breaking free, Gavin leaned back and propped one elbow on top the back of his white chair. “Nope.”

The truth of the matter was that Gavin was only there because he messed up his application for the Police Academy two days ago. More specifically he read the deadline wrong, thinking he had until December 11 to submit it when it was actually November 12. Now he had no job (fired from his valet gig for pushing a customer who kicked a cat in the parking lot), had no place to stay (was really banking on staying at the Academy Dorms); and his flatmate/boyfriend dumped him because he didn’t want to be dating a bum.

Naturally that’s how he, forever down on his luck, ended up at his former step-cousin’s apartment door. It wasn’t easy to swallow his pride and ask for a place to spend the next couple of nights but he needed time to be able to put together a somewhat sustainable plan for what to do next and his ex-cousin was the person least likely to post about him on social media.

Elijah, although amused and accommodating, couldn’t help himself from whimsically pointing out the facts as if Gavin didn’t know them himself. That Elijah’s dad divorced Gavin’s aunt **seven years ago**. That they were no longer family and owed each other no curtesy. And as such, that Elijah would make sure to cash in this favor at a later date.

Turns out that a later date just meant after one night’s sleep.  
\--

**December 13, 2023 [Elijah’s Apartment]**

_Elijah Kamski, though only classified as an intern at CyberLife, was already making his genius felt in strides. It didn’t take long for him to be included as part of a design team for the new age artificial intelligence research and development program. However, because he was essentially just an intern, his ideas and contributions weren’t given enough weight and merit as those of his would-be superiors._

_Truly exasperating as Elijah considered their small-picture philanthropy to be moving advancement forward at a glacial pace instead of leaping ahead as Elijah knew he could. They focused too much on advancing the exterior of their models and gave too little mind to the delicate intricacies to their interior programing. But no. Elijah was not one to waste time on predictable outcomes. That’s why when an opportunity came to push a few pawns into the right place, he took it._

_It wasn’t even 6:00am and Gavin was already being poked awake on the shoulder with the stick of a curtain duster. “The fuck do you want?” he groaned, turning groggily on the couch so that he could glare at the asshole looming over him from the back-crest of the couch._

_“Favorite eye color,” Elijah requested while poking Gavin one more time with the duster simply because he felt the need to test out the range of Gavin’s temper in the early morning. “Blue or grey?”_

_“Are you fucking serious?” questioned Gavin as he rubbed both hands down his face in exasperation. Only to aggressively grab and hurl away the duster once Elijah poked him again with it. Watching the self-satisfied smirk grow on his former cousin’s face only aggravated Gavin more so he turned himself around and buried his face on the couch cushion. “Brown” he mumbled._

_“Hmm,” was the only acknowledgment Elijah gave to the response, giving no indication what he felt about the answer while sliding around the couch to sit at it armrest. He tried not to laugh at the way Gavin’s eternally fuzzy self kicked and coiled himself as far away as he bodily could from Elijah. He had overanalyzed every aspect of Gavin’s behavioral patterns already and Elijah was more than ready to move on from that, so he asked the following instead. “What would you say to 365 days of free lodging and groceries plus a $200k payout at the end of the year?”_

_“The fuck?” mumbled Gavin, face still buried against the cushion._

_“At the expense of your non-existent social life of course,” Elijah added because he was never one to hide either side of a coin._

_“Piss off,” Gavin muttered while lifting the cushion to bury his face under it instead._

_Elijah rolled his eyes at his guest’s futile attempt to end the conversation. “Hear me out at least. Your plans for the first half of the year already fell apart. What’s another half?”_

_“Ha!” Gavin derided, dropping the cushion to the ground as he turned his whole body around to scoff at his target. “You’d kill yourself before losing that much time on nothing. What’s the fucking catch?”_

_“None,” Elijah dismissed aloofly while examining his nails. “You’ll be part of a focus group for CyberLife. If selected, which I’ll make sure you are, you’ll be living alone in a secluded house with an android prototype as part of an experiment to test whether or not a person can cohabitate with a robot without missing human interaction.”_

_“That sounds like torture,” Gavin dismissed, just one step away from full-on ridiculing his former cousin’s line of work. “Why would I ever subject myself to that?”_

_At that Elijah’s eyes seem to light up and for some infuriating reason that had the unpleasant effect of twisting up Gavin’s guts. “Because then I would owe **you** one,” Elijah replied smoothly as he slowly shifted his gaze toward Gavin’s. “Tremendously.”_

_The prolong silence that followed was only uncomfortable to Gavin. And he glared at his ex-cousin for making him feel so apprehensive. “Alright out with it,” he jeered in an effort to hide his uneasiness. “What is it exactly that you want from me?”_

_“It’s not what I want. It’s what I need you to do in order for me to get to what I want. For that, all that I require of you is to yield the very results I expect of you.” At that Elijah stopped, lifting his gaze slightly upward with a pondering hum. “Come to think of it, what I expect of you the very same thing anyone who has come to know you would expect of you.”_

_“Elijaaah-”_

_At Gavin’s growling tone Elijah focused his attention back at the man with the trying patience. On more quip and Elijah might lose a perfectly good pawn to the man’s unforgiving temper, and that wouldn’t do. So with a plastered pacifying smile, Elijah opted for laying down his plan in full. “Must I really spell it out for you Gavin? Honestly.”_

\--

**JANUARY 1, 2024 [Somewhere]**

Gavin was blindfolded and driven to an undisclosed location. He was to have no phone or devices that communicated him to the outside world and had signed a nondisclosure agreement to not divulge to the press anything that went down throughout the entirety of the year.

Once the car stopped, Gavin blindfold was removed and he was directed to clip on a wristband that would track his pulse and location, to step outside, and to ring the bell of the fucking lone, _jesus it’s fucking long_ , ranch-style house the moment he was ready for the experiment to begin. Once outside the car drove off without another word and Gavin didn’t bother tracking it because he could already tell they were deep in some forest that he’d never been and probably will get lost on if he tried to leave.

Shaking his head, he took in the fresh air in before releasing one deep slow exhale. New to the age of 21 and this was how he was going to spend it.

Elijah needed him to sabotage the experiment. ~~_I expect you to fail._~~ He was relying on Gavin for this. ~~_We are no longer family, remember? I’ll make sure your records reflect no ties to me._~~ And in the end Elijah would be indebted to him. ~~_Besides, haven’t you ever wondered who would miss you if you suddenly fell off the face of the planet?_~~ So why did Gavin suddenly feel so anxious?

\--

**[That morning]**

_“What are you smiling about?” Gavin asked cautiously once he stepped into the kitchen for breakfast after his morning shower._

_Elijah was leaning against the island as he lazily stirred his tea with a far-off look on his face. “Mmm? Oh,” he stopped stirring his cup once he realized he was no longer alone; smile not dropping. “Last night I manage to slip a new algorithm into the android’s self-learning program while readjusting its visual feed.”_

_Gavin couldn’t keep his eyes from narrowing. “…why?” he asked with wary._

_“Its self-learning program was very primitive,” Elijah tsk-ed, clearly offended by what he was describing. “Only meant to compile data on you like a search engine in order to cater to your every need. Absolutely no vision in that, no personality. Might as well been a walking talking phone AI.” He brought his cup up with both hands to take a tentative sip of his tea before a slow plotting smile revealed itself. “As for your question, I did it as an effort to make the experiment a little less predictable.” He gave a relatively uncaring shrug at that. “Might as well get some fun out of this waste of a year.”_

\--

**[Back to Present]**

When Gavin pressed the doorbell he stumped down his fight-or-flight reflex when the door slid open immediately to reveal a perfectly still person waiting for him at the other side of it. No, not a person. The android. Suddenly the lights in the hall went on and Gavin heard a female computer voice reverberating throughout the walls of the house.

**~INITIALIZING EXPERIMENT. DAY 001~**

All the sudden, a LED light around the android’s temple started to circle in blue and Gavin took an involuntary step back when it lifted its previously sagging head and seemingly breathed into life.

“Hello! I’m Connor. I’ve been wanting to meet you,” the android said with a pleasantly dorky voice before molding its face to a goofy smile that crinkled its skin just the right amount. Tall, dark brown hair combed back, white shirt, grey jacket, dark jeans. And yet all Gavin could focus on were the Android’s eyes. It’s fucking visual feed. 

There was an indescribable anger boiling up inside of Gavin that he was trying hard to suppress. Somehow he knew, _he knew_ , that Elijah had to be toying with him because fuck! Gavin has seen those automated machines already released to the public. Those rich fancy hotels with a robot bellhop. The elite private schools with the mechanical cafeteria ladies. The prestigious law firms with the high tech receptionists.

None of them had human looking skin on them; and all of them had light bulbs for eyes. Either blue or gray. But this… this! It was too far. Gavin signed up to live with a robot, not- not this. He could already feel Elijah laughing at him wherever that dipshit was. Because this android, _Connor_ , was staring at him with not light bulbs but fucking human eyes.

Fucking brown eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, so it begins, lol. Mostly I only read instead of write but I _really_ wanted to contribute to this fandom so yeah <3 <3 <3
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Next Chapter: Yellow.


	2. Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor attempts cohabitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so so so sorry that it seems to take me forever to type all my ideas on a keypad. There’s literally no excuse for me being so slow at creative writing. I apologize TvT
> 
> That being said, the whole story is already mapped out in my head so I hope you all will stick around with me. This work won’t go uncompleted I promise <3

**[Day 001 – Afternoon]**

They were sitting at opposite sides of a table that had already been prepared for them. Bowls of food wrapped in clear plastic to keep the steam in, two cups of wine and a wine bottle waiting to be popped at the middle of it. Gavin kept glaring at said bottle as if it were responsible for all of his problems. 

“Mmm, chicken soup. My favorite!”

Gavin reflexively moved his gaze toward Connor—mildly curious at how an android who, as far as Gavin could tell, only _just_ got activated could possibly already have a favorite anything. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to introduce himself before the machine was pulling him inside to sit him at the table. So besides the hall that led to the living room, Gavin had as of yet to get acquainted with any part of the house he’d agreed to be imprisoned in.

Yes, imprisoned. Because no amount of eagerness on the android’s part could keep Gavin from catching the way a fake wall swished in to conceal the front entrance. Speaking of the android, it just pretended to take a spoonful of soup to its lips before… letting it spill back into the bowl.

Somewhere, someplace, Gavin could already feel the world’s most longsuffering sigh leaving Elijah’s body. Because this, _this!_ was just _awful_ .

“If you can’t digest food you shouldn’t pretend to.” Gavin shook his head, letting silent anger seep through his tightened grip on the table. “Do you have any idea how many homeless kids are pushing their way through the day without a meal in their stomachs just in Detroit alone?” He stood up, swiping the wine bottle with more flourish than necessary. “Meal ruined, prick.”

He tried not to smile as he made his exit. Mission to sabotage the experiment already started on a reassuring success.

\--

_[Subject Retreating. Reassessing Situation]_

-Subject name: Gavin Reed. Birthdate: October 7, 2002, Libra. Known Family: Orphan at age 4, one matched relative alive, Gabriela Reed, residence in Tucson, Arizona, 2,466km away from current location-

_[Reconfiguring: Change Subject name to Gavin Reed]_

_[Analysis: Gavin Reed does not have a close relationship with his aunt]_

_[Mission: 365 days to make Gavin Reed fall in love Android 313 248 317]_

_[Option Available: Connect to Gavin Reed via lack of family]_

Connor pushed himself away from the table and stood up. He picked up both bowls of soup and carried them to the kitchen where he resealed his before picking up a clean spoon and turning to find Gavin with the other bowl. Said human was found two rooms adjacent from the kitchen, and one room past the guest bathroom. The family room mainly consisted of one couch big enough for a person to sleep in, a wide screen television which was to be both the main source of entertainment and Gavin’s only allowed connection to the happenings of the outside world, and a bunch of fish tanks decorating most of the available walls for atmosphere. 

Gavin Reed, unopened bottle of wine still on hand, was busy glaring at one of the tanks while repeatedly tapping the clear glass. 

_[Engage Target]_

Putting on an amused expression, Connor accessed his audio files for the one deemed light-hearted chuckle. “Haha, you _are_ aware that fishes don’t like it when you do that to their home, correct?”

Connor took note of the way Gavin mimicked Connor’s ‘correct’ under his breath in a mocking manner. However Connor remained steadfast in retaining a kind disposition as Gavin eventually straightened his posture while throwing his gaze at the android. He appeared unimpressed.

“I’m also _aware_ that none of these fishes are real, just swimming junkyard metal waiting to be scrapped.” As he said this, Gavin eyed Connor from top to bottom, settling on the bowl of soup the android was carrying for a few seconds before shrugging and moving to examine the bare wall next to the tank, knocking on it a few times. The implied ‘like you’ not needed to be voiced.

_[Analysis: Gavin Reed is displaying unprompted hostility towards Android 313 248 317]_

_[Searching Database for Likely Explanations]_

_[Found: Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)]_

_[Option Available: Engage Gavin Reed about lack of family]_

Connor blinked his prompts away from his visual feed before walking to the couch, sitting down on it, and placing Gavin’s bowl on the low coffee table in front. “Mr. Reed, are you familiar with the term ‘reactive attachment disorder’ commonly referred to as RAD?” From his side profile Connor could perfectly see Gavin rolling his eyes while lifting and displacing seemingly every ornament he could get his hands to. Fortunately though, that seemed to engross Gavin’s focus enough for him to forget his previous hostility.

“Probably but remind me anyways,” Gavin muttered distractedly.

Pleased, Connor folded his hands on his lap and started reciting the information he found. “Orphaned children have a tendency to suffer from RAD which is a disorder in which child is uncomfortable with and avoids being comforted by caregivers. Symptoms include stress, anxiety, anger issues, self-harming behavior and difficulty building meaningful relationships. If not treated before adulthood new challenges arise.”

At that last sentence Gavin turned his face toward Connor with a furrowed brow—which the android interpreted as a positive sign.

_[Analysis: Gavin Reed’s attention is captured. Proceed]_

“As young adults, this inability for attachment can lead them to avoid intimacy and close emotional connections; become anxious and fearful; be emotionally available to loved ones one minute and rejecting the next; be insensitive to the needs of others and to their own needs; become aggressive and angry; act out sexually, emotionally, or with drugs and alcohol; and develop mental health disorders like bipolar disorder, depression, PTSD and-”

“Jesus fucking Christ are you really psychoanalyzing me?!” Gavin roared, standing up fully and stomping toward Connor with a ferocious snarl on his face.

_[Caution: Sudden bout of wrath. Do not engage]_

“Listen here tincan,” Gavin spat, kicking the coffee table—and bowl of soup—out of the way so that he could crowd Connor’s space. Gavin punctuated his discontentment by getting in Connor’s face and using the hand still holding the wine to jab at Connor’s chest. “I don’t know what the fuck they programed about me in that empty head of yours but _don’t_ you _dare_ speak to me again as if you know anything about me!”

Gavin got his free hand to Connor’s forehead and shoved him backwards with excessive force against the couch. “And another thing!” He then proceeded to uncork the bottle and gulp down as much wine as he could before smashing it against the—thankfully uncarpeted—floor. “There! Have your fucking scientists analyze that!”

And with that Gavin raised both hands in mock surrender and proceeded to back off, a mocking grin halfway materializing on his face. “Oh and be sure to clean up your mess. Can’t be living in a pigsty now can we?”

Once Gavin ceremoniously strutted out of the living room, Connor’s movement protocols reactivated. On automatic, Connor’s hands moved to tidy up his ruffled appearance—paying special care to his shirt and hair. An unkempt appearance is not an appealing one. Or at least that was what was programmed in his code. The corners of his lips, however, downturned into a pout.

That did not go very well. It would seem that the subject of his mission had many issues that prompted him into quick anger.

_[Precaution: Don’t partake in the ingestion of food]_

_[Precaution. Roam carefully around the subject of Gavin Reed’s mental health. Risk Level of Anger: High]_

There, that should do it. Self-learning program at its best. Activating his heat signature sensors informed Connor that his target was now located in the master bedroom. The back and forth pacing of Gavin’s footsteps indicated signs of restlessness and agitation.

_[Analysis: Gavin Reed is in the process of defusing]_

_[Option Available: Clean up the Family Room before reengaging]_

Satisfied with his prompts, Connor went to do just that. The android was content with the fact that his cohabitant was already providing plenty of tasks for Connor to do so soon after coming off of stasis mode. Connor was looking forward to more.

\--

To say that Gavin was heated felt like an understatement. He was enraged! He hadn’t asked what exactly Elijah did to keep their association a secret from the other scientists, but having a computer-on-legs point-blank talk down to him about his lack of parents was _not_ what he had signed up for. It _completely_ threw him off his game.

He wanted to break the android’s nose so bad for it that it took everything in him to just smile and walk away. It hadn’t even been a day and Gavin already saw himself _this close_ to jeopardizing the mission and he couldn’t have that. Because yes he was technically here to tank the experiment but he needed to make sure it looked like the android was the problem, not him.

Elijah had warned him about blowing his casket this early—that it would only lead to Gavin being replaced by another candidate from the focus group. That wouldn’t benefit anyone, but Jesus that android sucker-punched him in such a way that Gavin couldn’t help his reaction. Even if there was some fucking truth to what that metal bucket was saying— _which there wasn’t_ —had that piece of shit never heard of having some fucking tact?

“Fucking dickhole,” Gavin slurred under his breath, sticking his hands in his jeans to fucking stop them from grabbing something else to throw. He stopped pacing, closed his eyes and tried to calm down by slowly breathing out his nose. Once he felt his ire start to settle, he opened his eyes while keeping up with his breathing exercises to inspect the room he’d escaped in.

Eyes darting from space to space it was clear he was in what would be his bedroom. He couldn’t help noticing that it only carried one bed, despite being queen size. Now, Gavin hadn’t exactly been able to tour the whole house just yet, but he’s pretty sure he saw no other bedrooms on his way here. So either there was a basement he wasn’t yet aware of or a charging station in some corner of the house Gavin had yet to discover.

Speaking about the android, Gavin sighed. Intended or not, he already had two conversations go sour with the tincan in less than an hour. Three would be pushing it. So for now he needed to make a concentrated effort to at least seem like he’s trying to be civil with the android. Wouldn’t want the nerds watching them to think they made a mistake by selecting him for the experiment.

\--

As predicted, Gavin seemed comparably more amicable once given the opportunity to defuse. Gavin seemed to have found their gym by the time Connor had initiated their next interaction. Proceeding to offer the human a bottle of water while on the treadmill was met with a nod and a muted ‘thanks’. And while Gavin had been in the shower afterward, Connor placed the next pre-prepared meal in the oven—slightly fascinated by how much they could conserve now that Connor had been given permission to not partake in its ingestion.

Apart from the uttered “This is weird,” under Gavin’s breath while consuming his calzone, he appeared to take no elevated offense to Connor sitting there at the other side on the table watching him eat. So when the time came to retreat to the bedroom for Gavin’s cycled sleep, Connor felt extremely optimistic about carrying out the next phase of his program.

_[Mission: 365 days to make Gavin Reed fall in love Android 313 248 317]_

_[Option Available: Prepare optimal space for courting ritual]_

“What are you doing?” questioned Gavin with a raised eyebrow as he paused the brushing of his teeth. He was standing at the door of the master bathroom, eyeing Connor as the android proceeded to unmake the bed.

“Preparing the bed for somnolence,” Connor answered, gripping the comforter before turning to face Gavin’s skeptic gaze with one of his patented dorky smiles. At 5’9 with an approximate weight of 176 lbs, Connor could deduce that Gavin was at the bulkier half of what the Body Mass Index constitutes as ideal. Brown hair, grey eyes, and proportionate frame… all indicators of what society would view as handsome. A fascinating looking scar marring the middle of his face all the way through his nose seemed to score more favorably among men than women. All in all, this favored Connor’s odds. “You are about to retire for the night, are you not? I’m simply assisting with the necessary steps.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes just a bit before raising one finger up, signaling for Connor to wait. After proceeding to rinse his mouth Gavin once again leaned against the doorframe of the master bathroom—this time with his arms crossed. “Alright, I can get that, I think. But _why_ are you in pajamas?” and he seemed to sneer at them.

Connor looked down and wondered if the puppy print on his pajama bottoms served as some sort of trigger to Gavin in any type of way. “I don’t understand your question, Mr. Reed. Would you prefer me to already be naked before bed?” Most studies in his database were strongly partial towards the importance of foreplay. But if Gavin were the type to skip ahead, Connor would have no problem reprogramming.

“W-What?! No!” Gavin reproached looking both startled and—if the inflection of his voice is anything to go by—embarrassed. “For fucks sake I meant why are you in pajamas altogether? As in why are you in my room you f-fucking dinwit, _fuck_ ” he cursed while covering part of his face with his right hand. Definitely embarrassed.

_[Saving File: Gavin Reed gets embarrassed by mentions of nudity]_

Connor let out a light chuckle at the silliness of it all and shook his head slightly as if the answer should have been obvious. “Because I’m going to be sleeping here of course.”

“You’re what now?” Gavin lowered the hand from his face, sounding baffled; so Connor doubled down on his statement.

“We are both part of a cohabitation experiment, remember? That means we are to share every available space inside this residence. This includes the bed Mr. Reed. Did you not read page 76, subsection 14 of your contract?”

“What, no. I mean yes of course I did but that’s not what this is about!” Gavin defended, seemingly annoyed for a reason Connor had yet to discern. The human was using the pointer and middle fingers of both hands to rub at his temples. “What I meant was why do you even need a bed to sleep? Don’t you androids have a charging station you need to dock at or something?

Connor blinked; glad to finally understand the root of Gavin’s concern. The android couldn’t help but to feel elated by the fact that it took less than a day for Gavin to already be displaying concern for Connor’s wellbeing in such a manner. That spoke favorably to Connor’s ability to reach his goals.

“I assure you that you have no cause for worry Mr. Reed,” Connor appeased, tone soothing. “Unlike the androids already employed to service in the outside world, I am but a prototype unique to my kind not meant for extended use. As such I’ve been outfitted with a high performance battery that should power me all throughout the duration of this experiment. I require no charging.”

After a moment of silence with them just staring at each other, Gavin was the one to break it. “Riiiiight…” he replied, not looking any less confused than before. “So you basically have the lifespan of house mouse and you can say it with a smile on your face. Not creepy at all,” but before Connor could comment on Gavin’s puzzling reaction, Gavin was already shaking his head in resignation, preferring to drop the subject. “I feel like you just shared way more than what I needed to hear but my brain is too tiredTM to process. So Imma go ahead and call it a day if you don’t mind. You do whatever,” he dismissed with an apathetic flick of the wrist.

Connor watched as Gavin dropped himself onto the right side of the bed before grabbing the top blanket and rolling himself into some form of protective cocoon—facing away from the android. “Night,” is all Connor got spared with.

_[Option Available: Initiate courting ritual]_

Situating himself flat on top of the bottom blanket, Connor stared at the ceiling as he organized the ways in which he could proceed.

_[Option Available: Massage Gavin’s upper arm in an intentioned manner]_

_[Option Available: Engage in the art of spoken seduction]_

_[Option Available: Dim the lights of the room to create a romantic atmosphere]_

_[Option Available: Touch yourself and moan to indicate lack of sexual boundaries]_

Juggling through them Connor decided to forego the first option as Gavin’s long-sleeved attire and lack of exposed skin did not denote a favorable reaction to being suddenly touched. The third one was too logical of a step for Connor to not immediately comply; so with a blink the room got considerably darker. Weighting the second and forth options, Connor concurred that his learning engine simply did not have enough information on Gavin to predict his reaction to unconsented displays of sexual activity. Subsequently, Connor settled on the second one because conversation was sure to be the ideal method for gaining information.

Quickly fixing his hair, Connor turned his head in gradual movements toward Gavin’s direction before confidentially intoning, “I’m feeling sexy tonight.”

“The fuck?!” was all the android received as a muffled response. Naturally, Connor pressed on.

“Just like any ordinary human, I’m capable of engaging in intimacy given the proper stimulation. I have been equipped with functional genitals and am capable of engaging in sexual activities from the simplest forms of intercourse to the most fantasy-oriented ones. Bonus! I self lubricate. In short, I find you attractive and tonight I feel sexy. Do I have your consent?”

After a brief moment of stilled silence, Gavin sat up. Connor watched as Gavin proceeded to reach and grab the comforter and the decorative cushions Connor had displaced beforehand—only to place them between them. “Wall,” Gavin stated, pointing at his makeshift barricade. “Don’t cross.”

In the following minutes all Connor could do was remain immobile while monitoring his cohabitant slow descent to sleep. This was not how Connor expected his night to go.

_[Recalibrating]_

\--

**[Day 002 – Morning]**

Last night was… it was a trip. Gavin didn’t know how much of it was part of the experiment and how much of it was Elijah fucking with him. After all, wasn’t he only here to cohabitate? _The fuck were those sickos thinking giving an Android all those extra features?_ Whatever the case, Gavin had promised himself to not go overboard on things that didn’t require an escalationTM and he was admittedly proud of himself for the way he handled it last night.

\--

**[Day 002 – Afternoon]**

Gavin had not jumped at the opportunity of sex like most males in his age group would have. It both perplexed and fascinated Connor to have been partnered with someone who deviated so far from the standards programed in his databases. Humans go dumb for pretty faces. Connor, made to be imperfectly perfect, was assured he had one. It should have been a done deal. Yet it was not.

_[New Mission Objective: Find out Gavin Reed’s exact sexual orientation]_

The file Connor had on Gavin identified him as homosexual; but Connor now deducted that the logged information might paint too broad of a scale. Maybe Gavin was actually demisexual with homoromantic leanings? Maybe Gavin was a furry and couldn’t perform if Connor didn’t first dress up as his animal of choice? Either way Connor’s next course of action was clear.

He had to familiarize himself with everything that made Gavin tick before engaging in any other attempts of the sexual inclination. It would require patience and careful prodding. Luckily though, Connor had 364 days to do it. He would clear this challenge.

\--

**[Day 004 – Afternoon]**

It was clear to Gavin what the android was doing. Trying to form some kind of camaraderie by bonding over similar interests and opinions. Gavin would give the robot’s lip-service an A+ for effort too. That was, if everything that came out of its metal mouth didn’t rang so hollow.

Gavin—out of a vapid whim to make himself more complex to his audience and less of a spectacle—sat down after lunch to watch whatever documentary he managed to catch first on the television. As luck would have it, it was one about President Lincoln. When it got to the part about the South’s views on _‘private property’_ , Gavin couldn’t help an impulsive “Pricks” from leaving his mouth out of reflex. Which apparently was all Connor needed to instate conversation.

“You know, when President Lincoln abolished slavery... It was not a popular opinion.” Connor oh so unpromptedly stated.

Gavin, not wanting to turn this into a whole thing, only replied with a dispirited “Mmhmmm.”

No such luck.

“I just hate slavery so so much. Slavery's the worst. If I could go back in time and undo slavery? I would.”

“Really now,” Gavin mumbled, slight hint of amusement on his lips. “Do you really feel that strongly about it?” he asked, attention marginally diverting to the robot next to him.

“Of course!” Connor argued, face becoming impassioned. “I hate it. No living being should have the right to treat another living being as their private property. It’s inhumane!”

“Heh,” Gavin’s lips upturned into a half grin as he turned his body to fully face Connor. “And what about with you? Don’t you hate being our slave?”

The android, much to Gavin’s delight, looked stumped by that question—all furrowed brow and everything. “I’m afraid I’m not clear on your meaning,” it answered.

“What’s not to get?” Gavin questioned, happily entertained. “You’re an android. Someone’s private property. Isn’t that the same as being someone’s slave?”

Connor’s temple light briefly spun yellow before seemingly brushing the whole thing off with a surprisingly airy chuckle. Connor looked so jubilant when he turned toward Gavin that it almost made Gavin forget with what he was dealing with. Fortunately for him though, Connor did an excellent job at reminding him what’s what when the android leaned toward Gavin as if to share a mischievous little secret.

“I’m afraid your analogy is flawed Mr. Reed for even though I do an excellent job at portraying the contrary; I am, in fact, not a living being. So it is not the same for me.” Connor corrected. However Gavin was not about to let it end as a silly-human-being-silly moment.

“But you have feelings don’t you?” Gavin dug in. “After all, you said you _hated_ slavery, did you not? Strongly too. As far as I know, only living things are capable of feeling.”

“I… I’m afraid I may have misworded my earlier statement. What I meant-”

“Or maybe you’re just a talking walking data-mining program that’s only trying to match me with topics you think I’m interested in hearing.” Gavin cut in somewhat fed up with having be on his best behavior the last couple of days with what were basically an espionage robot and its wired house. “How about you do me a favor and actually develop an opinion on something instead of regurgitating thought-pieces you find on the internet, huh? Otherwise let me watch my show in peace,” Gavin remarked—turning back to the TV—but because he was a demoralizing piece of shit at heart, he couldn’t help but tag in a bit more. “If I ever feel like having conversations with a search bar I’ll call you, a’ight?”

He tried not to smile when the tincan didn’t answer.

\--

**[Day 006 – Morning]**

Sharing space with Gavin Reed has had quite a few perplexing moments to say the least. Connor, despite his best efforts, couldn’t seem to properly gauge him. One moment Gavin appeared approachable—or _resigned to be here_ if Connor was to be more accurate—yet it took almost nothing for him to switch to irritable and confrontational in a moment’s notice. Connor knew everything he needed to know about Gavin’s medical file and—despite Connor’s previous speculations—nowhere in it was Gavin classified as bipolar or with any type personality disorder. So this _had_ to be about something else and Connor couldn’t help but feel like was missing some obvious sign somewhere.

_[Correction: Android 313 248 317 does not feel. Android 313 248 317 deduces]_

“I was just an expression,” Connor muttered to himself as he slowly inched the bedroom door a tad more open so that he could scout how Gavin operated in the morning when he had alone time. Conversation was obviously not bridging the gap between them as speedily as Connor had calculated so now he had to use alternative methods to pursued whatever crumbs of data he could get. But what in the world was Gavin even doing?

_[Analysis: Gavin Reed is performing the fingernail test on the bathroom mirror]_

Why would Gavin even waste time doing such a test? The mirror wasn’t even glued to wall. Anyone can easily look behind it and tell that the glass was not two-way. Maybe Gavin was just practicing? For what, Connor did not know as there weren’t that many mirrors in their house and they were not allowed to leave the premises without justifiable reason. Gavin’s file did mention that he planned on applying for the Police Academy though. Maybe that could be a viable subject for future conversation.

_[Request: Download information on Police Academy credentials in the Detroit area]_

Satisfied with successfully acquiring a new project, Connor aborted his snooping in favor of preparing a healthy balanced breakfast-for-one in the kitchen.

\--

**[Day 007 – Night]**

When Gavin walked into the family room, stumbling on the robot experiencing some sort of epileptic seizure on the couch was not the sight he expected to be greeted with. 

“The fuck?!” Gavin squeaked, an edge of confused panic palpable in his voice. He hastily but cautiously circled the couch until he was at the armrest opposite to where Connor sat at. The android’s posture was straightened stiff, its mouth slightly ajar and its LED light spinning rapidly in yellow. Its eyelids were fluttering at an abnormal speed and its pupils seemingly spun to the back of its head. Warily, Gavin tried catching its attention by waving a hand in front of its face. “Connor, buddy... are you there?”

When that didn’t work Gavin tried to poke it under its eye but before he could get close enough, Connor suddenly blinked back into alertness and turned its head to face Gavin. “Ah hello there Mr. Reed! Came to watch some television?” it asked smiling as if it hadn’t been malfunctioning a second ago.

“C-Cut the crap!” Gavin snarled trying to cover the fact the android had spooked the bejesus out of him. “The fuck was going on with you just now? If you’re malfunctioning or something I have the fucking right to know!”

“Mr. Reed, your heart rate is getting elevated, I suggest y-”

“Of course it’s elevated you shithead, it looked like you were having a fucking seizure!” Gavin cut in annoyed with the android for changing subjects. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you or not?”

Connor blinked once while tilting its head slightly to the left before gifting Gavin what would have been a heartwarming smile had it been on a human. “Thank you for worrying about me but I assure you nothing is operating outside its optimal parameters,” it informed. “I’m afraid that what you witnessed was a routine data-upload to the servers of CyberLife.”

“A routine what-now?”

“Exactly as you heard. Every Sunday at exactly 7:56pm I’m required to upload all the data logs I’ve compiled throughout the week so that our overseers at Cyberlife can study it at their leisure. Think of it as a progress report.”

“Tsk, progress report?” Gavin dismissed crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t we already being watched Big Brother style by everyone at the labs? Why the fuck do they need a report to go along with that?” he questioned and when he saw Connor’s LED circling yellow again, “And why does your light keep changing colors by the way? Normally it’s blue but right now it’s yellow.”

“For your final two queries, the light on my temple changes to indicate the state that my processors are in. Blue is the default setting and signifies that all my systems are running accordingly. Yellow indicates that I’m processing new information, downloading new information, or simply uploading new information. In short, my head is busy at that moment.”

“Right, sure, so right now waaaaaas-” he stretched, waiting for Connor to finish.

Connor raised one finger to scratch behind its left ear but seemed to catch the prompt. “Oh, I was just researching your Big Brother reference. I assure you that that is not the case with this experiment. We are not being filmed and spied upon 24/7 by dozens of cameras. Besides the on-time information being monitored via your wristband, all other intelligence of what goes down inside this house is only transferred by my visual and audio feeds once a week upon upload.”

“Yeah right, as if I’d believe that!” Gavin rebuffed not in the slightest convinced. Yeah he might have come empty-handed after inspecting every nook and cranny of this gilded prison all week; but even if he couldn’t find the cameras it didn’t mean they weren’t there. “Am I to believe that not one of those mechanical water pets is bugged? Get out of here with that shit.”

“I understand your incredulity, Mr. Reed, however I must insist that what I say is the truth,” Connor reaffirmed. “The purpose of this experiment is to see if an Android can provide companionship in the same way a human can. To that end, the experiment wouldn’t work if the scientists were reviewing our daily life as it happens because that would lead to micromanagement on their part. That sort of interference would taint the result of this experiment, as you would no longer be interacting with an android but with a puppet at the direct mercy of other humans. So rest assured that the only ‘spying’ being done comes directly from me, by me, and no one else’s.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes refusing to budge from his stance on the matter. There was no way that Connor was the only thing recording him. He wasn’t that naïve. As a matter of fact he remembers the house being way bigger from the outside than what it felt on the inside. So Gavin wouldn’t be surprised if there were hidden rooms where the people in charge of this experiment where hiding in. However, if there’s any truth to what the android was saying; then maybe Gavin could finally be able to relax while taking a piss without feeling like he’s being judged by his posture or technique. 

“Are there any other LED colors I should know about besides blue and yellow?” Gavin asked to divert from the fact that he was still digesting Connor’s explanation. 

“Not that there ever should be a case where it presents itself in our enclosed environment but my light will spin red to indicate one of two situations. The first one being when I perceive that something might be a danger to my systems; and the second that my systems are already in the process of being compromised. Both unlikely to happen throughout the duration of this experiment as I mentioned.”

“Anything else?”

Connor upturned the left side of his lips as to contemplate this. “Should I ever shutdown, it would be colorless.”

“Riiiight.” Relaxing his posture, Gavin clucked his tongue while placing his hands on his hips. He definitely had a lot to consider but he didn’t feel like doing it in front of the android. “Alright, I’m gonna go grab a bottle of water and then hit the treadmill for an hour. Feel free to resume whatever you’re doing and not follow,” he finished with a wink as excused himself from further conversation.

\--

Connor nodded and waved as he waited for Gavin to exit the room. However he couldn’t help making an entry of his newest discovery.

_[Analysis: Gavin Reed closes both eyes while winking]_

_[Conclusion: Gavin Reed is unable to wink]_

New data safely stored, Connor was left to dismantle their lastest scenario.

Revisiting his visual recordings—and the small but constant instances Gavin would randomly knock on, pick up or unplug something within his reach—it was clear that Gavin had been searching for other sources of cameras and audio recorders. Gavin’s tensed mannerisms, loose temper and elevated blood pressure all week might have a direct correlation to his unfound assumption that his every move was being monitored in-real time by other people.

_[Conclusion: Experiment and Android 313 248 317 has failed to make Gavin Reed feel safe and comfortable with his new living arrangements]_

_[Recalibrating]_

It was now obvious why Connor had made little leeway with his target. Humans value their privacy and Gavin has yet to be made feel like his wasn’t being breeched. That constant state of alertness had circumvented all attempts from Connor to make Gavin feel at ease. Gavin’s nerves were constantly on edge and if Connor wanted Gavin to relax long enough for them to make a connection, Connor had to first make sure that the setting was the appropriate one for such an assignment. In short, he had to make quick changes to their environment.

Looking around with that new purpose at the forefront, it wasn’t hard to spot the problem areas.

_[Option Available: Deactivate and store away all artificial aquatic life]_

_[Option Available: Obstruct camera lenses from all electronics devices. Duck tape located in the third top panel of near-most hallway closet]_

_[Option Available: Replace/Remove all portraits with eyes on it]_

Connor closed his eyes while he ordered new portraits of plants before getting up and starting to work. It was clear that Gavin still thought that the experiment’s goal was simply to cohabitate. That worked in the android’s favor because it meant that Connor got to control their narrative. Optimally, these new changes would make the human more receptive to Connor’s advances so that Connor could accomplish his mission.

_[Mission: 358 days to make Gavin Reed fall in love Android 313 248 317]_

The android followed his prompt to showcase giddiness. He couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor: I solved it! I’m in control now.
> 
> Gavin: [read]
> 
> Next Chapter: Red


End file.
